TicTacToe LbNA # 10330 (ARCHIVED)

You’ll find Franklin County’s first letterbox in Shakerag Hollow, on Sewanee’s Perimeter Trail between Green’s View and the Alto Road.

Descend from Green’s View (at the end of Green’s View Road, next to the Sewanee Inn) and turn left at the trail map… or enter from the Alto Road (take Texas Avenue and turn right on Roark’s Cove Road, across from the Sewanee football field; 0.7 miles down the mountain, there’s a convenient pulloff along the road. Park here and hike less than a minute back up the hill, where a blue arrow on the pavement points the way into Shakerag Hollow.).

Let’s make it a little challenging, since this part of the trail is less than a mile long. Somewhere west of the 3-foot squeeze between two boulders, and east of the boulder marked with a blue arrow, you’ll see a slender tree with a painted blue blaze on the north side of the trail. Right across the path is a burned/rotted-out shell of a tree, about 20 feet high; inside its hollow, covered in bark, you’ll find the TicTacToe letterbox.

If you’re near the abandoned, rusted refrigerator someone (sadly) pushed off the bluff, you’re not even warm. I did consider this as a hiding place until I began to wonder what might be currently living in the meat keeper.

This trail is rocky in parts and steep in others; not for strollers or most young children. Wildflower heaven in spring. Bring your own stamp pad!

Shakerag Hollow, by the way, gets its name from moonshining days. Thirsty customers would descend into the hollow, leave payment in a certain spot, wave a white rag, and retreat, then return later to find their money replaced with a jug. Thus did the location of the still remain a secret….

Before you set out, please read the
waiver of responsibility and disclaimer.
Please be sure to reseal baggies and boxes carefully so that they stay dry
and rehide boxes in their original location, completely hidden from view.